Chapter Text
Pomni's parents always told her that the woods were a dangerous place, and now she's wishing she listened.
Her footsteps are fast against dry leaves and twigs, the moon casting a soft blue glow through the gaps of the leaves above her head, breath heaving out of her as she almost sprints into a tree. Cradling her mauled arm, her eyes dart around for the perpetrator, ears trying desperately to pick up any sound other than her heart hammering in her chest.
Of course. Of course she got fucking bit by some weird creature in the middle of the woods. Of course she chose tonight to sneak away from her village in rebellion. God she was stupid, so so stupid for thinking this was a good idea at all. Now her arm has a huge bite mark carved into it, blood pouring out of the wound and leaving a trail on her torn up cloak and staining the ground beneath her, undoubtedly leading the thing that bit her right where she is.
"Fuck!" She can't help but yelp, gritting her teeth as the sound of rapid steps are heard behind her. She has to either hide or faint from the amount of blood she's lost and get eaten alive, and she sure as hell wasn't going to pick the ladder.
She takes a sharp turn into a small gap, never having been so thankful about her small stature as she hops through, the creature slamming into the trees and snarling loudly, retreating to go around. She has little time to think, but she spots a small hollow log laying against another. She stumbles over, taking her hand away from her injured arm only to throw some of her blood in another direction away from her, practically throwing herself into the log and covering it again with her cloak.
She stares at the little opening she came through, the sound of loud thuds echoing through the forest and the thing runs past, grunting and growling and panting slowly but surely quieting off into the distance of fog.
She gasps as she releases the breath she didn't even know she was holding, a hand clutching as her chest. She feels like she can't breathe even as she's panting.
Nope, not the time to have a fucking panic attack.
She forces herself up and out, almost fainting as the lack of blood is starting to get to her. Jesus, how deep did that thing bite?! She just digs her nails into herself and starts running again, trying to find something, someone, anything that could help her in this little predicament she has found herself in.
Finally, finally, she runs into a metal gate. Literally, Her head pinging off it. "Owww..." She cradles her head in her good hand for a moment before realizing that she ran into a gate, Like the gate to enter a property. Wow she really needed to get a grip.
Reaching out, she tries to open it, hearing a loud clang as the chain linking the two doors together hits steel. She looks up, it's about two and a half meters tall.. Maybe she can climb over? But with this arm, yeah no. Looking around she notices the nearby fence starts tapering off to only a few feet, just short enough for someone with her stature to hop over.
She does just so, stumbling slightly over her own feet, only able to lightly jog down the long path to the literal mansion at the end. She's a little occupied to be amazed but it's stunning.
Worn, black wood trail up the sides of the walls, the only gaps being for the windows, curtains pulled close. The roof is made out of grey paneling, a couple different chimneys protruding out from the slanted expanse. The entry is even more luxurious, a tall, large porch made of some sort of dark wood along with a huge door, and a doorknocker made to look like a dragon hanging in the middle.
She doesn't even use it as she slams the luckily unlocked door open, finally collapsing onto the ground in a small bloody heap. She can't really bring herself to care if no one's even home, maybe they'd find her body in the morning in the middle of their entryway, she might even get her own grave if they're nice.
Her vision starts to fade as she rolls over onto her back, eyes fluttering as an indistinct shape comes into her view, the last thing she remembers being voices above her.
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Holy fuck, her... Everything, hurt.
She... Honestly couldn't even tell if she was alive or not.
Her arm was oh so sore, but she could feel something wrapped around it, something soft. Now that she thinks about it, there's something soft beneath her too.
She grasps at the stuff with her good hand, realizing that it's bedding... How did she get here? Last thing she remembered was her bleeding out on the floor like a wounded animal and voices above her. Wait, voices? If there were voices then there must be someone living here!
Forcing her eyes open, she glances around the room, though not very well due to the harsh light casting through the curtains of the room, making her squint. The space seems to be a very large bedroom, herself laying on a lavish bed with a thin canopy hanging from the edges of wood supports. There's a window to the right, maybe a few feet wide and tall with a thick drapery, black on the outside and a velvet on the inside, only about half closed. Turning her head to the left, there's a wooden door at the far end with a golden knob, a large study desk against the farthest wall, and now that she noticed it, two nightstands on either side of her.
God, her head hurt. She lets out a groan and closes her eyes again, throwing an arm over her face to try and ease the pain. Doesn't work but she tried. She jumps as something can be heard shifting across the wooden floor just outside her room, along with a clunky, uneven gait.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asks a low, monotone voice, sounding uncertain.
"Of course! You think I could just leave a human bleeding out on the ground?" A more gentle, light voice responds, both seeming to slowly get closer and closer.
Human? Why did the gentle voice say it like that? I mean, it's true, but it's just a weird way to say it... Maybe they're just extravagant? They are in the middle of the woods in a huge run-down mansion.
Pomni tries to sit up, turning to her side and trying to scootch over to the edge before they entered. For some reason her body was already moving before her brain could catch up, her hands shaking uncontrollably and making her injured arm hurt, Panic was rising in her chest when she couldn't move too well. She's always hated feeling trapped, Being touched, hugged, in a room without an exit, all of those things made her brain shut down and enter into paranoia and anxiety.
She barely even notices the door softly creaking open, her hand grasping at her chest. That same feeling from the night before flooding her mind. The trees, the horrid sounds catching up behind her, clutching her arm while running and hiding in that stupid log, the panic attack from then finally catching up to her. Fuck, she can't breathe. She can't breathe she can't breathe she can't--
"Miss?"
She practically jumps out of her skin, a startled yelp escaping her and shocking her back into reality. She didn't even realize she was crying until she tried to focus on the figures, blurry and watery in her vision. one much, much larger than the other... What?
"Wh-who--" Pomni harshly scrubs her eyes with her palm, quickly sitting up the best she can before looking up and--
Oh my god it's a fucking snake woman.
A loud, surprised yell escapes her as she scrambles to the other side of the bed, letting out another sound as she misses the edge and falls onto the floor with a thump on her back. The snake-thing-woman lets out a sympathetic 'oh..' and slithers to the other side of the bed, wringing her mitts together nervously. "Are you okay?"
Her skin looks like a soft, dark burlap, stitches tracing her features along with a blue button eye on the right side of her face, each part of her deep red hair turning into little snakes that are also looking down in worry. The top half of her clothes looks like a pastel purple long sleeve dress, having been stitched back together with felt squares and purple twine. it's cut off by a darker purple corset, tied together by blue ribbons and tied neatly into a large bow in the back. The most shocking part of her appearance was her bottom half, being a long, snake-like body made out of what seems like a fiery red fabric and dark red patches, the underside being a tan colour.
Pomni doesn't even think before rolling under the bed, letting out a hiss as she hits her arm on the framing. God, she escaped one life or death situation, now she walked into another? Just how unlucky is she?!
"Great, you scared it." The androgynous voice sounds unimpressed, staying near the doorway as the snake thing huffs.
"What else was I supposed to do?" The snake sounds frustrated, shifting to the foot of the bed. "Do you know what humans like?"
The other voice pauses, seeming to think. "What about, uh, food? Humans like food, right? Sweets?" They sound uncertain, slowly stepping closer to the edge of the mattress, one hoof and one paw coming into view, crouching down to their knees they lift up the blanket hanging off the side, getting a better view of her.
They looked... Weird to say the least. their limbs are all different, one arm looking like a reptile and the other like a paw, one leg also looking like a paw while the other is like the hoof of a goat. Their head is shaped like a pink triangle, horns protruding out of the top. A long, fluffy tail swishing from side to side idly. "Hey, uhhh... Food? You like food?" Their tone is like how one would talk to a spooked animal, "Fooooood..." They make a eating motion.
"I-I'm not stupid." Pomni growls out, "And you will not persuade me with food of all things!" She looks around as the being stands up again, mumbling something about giving up and starting to walk out. She spots her chance to escape, the door swinging open. If she didn't go now, she didn't know if there would ever be a chance again.
Scrambling out from under the bed and crawling to her feet, she makes a break for it, almost, almost reaching the door until--
"Oop, up you go!"
She's grabbed by the ankle by something and subsequently lifted into the air. dangling by her foot, she looks up-- or, down-- and is dumbfounded by the red tail holding onto her. That damned snake lady grabbed her!
"You can't leave when you gotta wound like that, doll..." She says, a scolding look on her face as she crosses her arms, slowly and gently laying a kicking Pomni back onto the bed and easily wrapping her up in a surprisingly soft blanket, arms by her sides.
"Ugh! I-I don't taste good, like, a-at all! I promise, I'm a very very bad snack!" Pomni struggles against her binds, just digging herself deeper in the process. "Get me... Out!"
"No can do, darlin', you need to heal." She hums, and Pomni blushes lightly at the nickname, watching as she slowly moves back to the cracked door. "Now, let me get you somethin' to eat. Do you have any favorites?" Pomni just huddles closer into her cocoon, glaring up at the woman wordlessly. "Alright," she finally turns and slides out of the door. Finally, some time to think.
Okay, checklist review.
- Almost died
- didnt die
- met some wierd snake woman and some amalgamation of animal parts
If that wasn't the weirdest checklist she's made she didn't know what else to write. And now on top of all that she's trapped in a dumb, stupid little blanket that's annoyingly fluffy and comfortable. If she could rip this thing to shreds, she totally would. man, where did all this violence come fro--
"I'm back, sorry for the wait..." The woman's back, now with a small bowl of something. or, it's small compared to her at least. "Now I need you to promise you wont run when I unwrap you, I don't need you gettin' another injury without anythin' in your stomach." She shifts so she's about level with the bed, setting the bowl down on the nightstand next to her. Pomni's mouth starts watering against her will, but she shakes her head, huffing.
"Promise..." She looks away, "not." Before she can look back up she's being sat up and un-cocooned from her prison, the blanket falling from her shoulders. Free at last!
But before she can try her great escape again, a heavy weight flops down on her lap, knocking the breath out of her slightly. Looking down, the end of the woman's tail is resting on her lap, pinning her down.
"I could see it in your eyes," she smiles softly, making Pomni glare at her, even as she snatches the bowl from the nightstand. She looks down to see what it is. Its tomato soup, the consistency perfect and a spoon already placed against the side. All of Pomni's suspicion melts, being taken over by the sheer hunger eating away at her stomach.
She rests the bowl against the woman's tail like a table and grabs the spoon with her left hand, thankful that her good hand wasn't the one that got bit.
Lifting the utensil and taking a bite, she almost cries from how good it tastes, having to force a scowl on her face. "Passable.." she mumbles, even as she shovels the rest of the soup into her mouth in a matter of seconds.
"My name's Ragatha by the way, and the person you met earlier is Zooble. They're a little standoffish, but they'll warm up to you." The woman, no, Ragatha explains, a soft smile still on her face as she speaks.
Pomni just glances up to look at her, a little tomato on her chin from how fast she ate it. "Pomni..." she eventually says, looking away and lifting up her hand to wipe her mouth.
Before she can though, she notices her sleeve is completely in tatters, the supposed long-sleeve tunic now only forearm length. "Oh shit," she blurts out.
"Here.." Ragatha hands her a red handkerchief, "you tore yourself up pretty good last night, d'you remember what happened?"
Pomni tenses, trying to hide it by grabbing the handkerchief and wiping her mouth. She's always hated being seen as weak. "I... Dont remember." She lies, and though Ragatha notices, she doesn't comment on it.
"That's alright, you don't have to remember right away." Ragatha smiles down at her, slowly sliding her tail off of Pomni's legs. "Why don't you get some rest, we can talk in the morning."
Confused, Pomni looks at the window, seeing the setting sun in the horizon, even though she just woke up. Jesus, how long did she sleep? "O-okay..." she responds, looking down at her bandaged arm as Ragatha says goodnight and leaves.
Tomorrow was gonna be a long day.